A Day-to-day Guide For Managing Type 1 Diabetes
Intro It’s normal to feel overwhelmed about managing type 1 diabetes, especially when life gets busy. After all, dealing with diabetes isn’t always convenient. While each day is different, adding some simple strategies into your daily routine can help you to stay on track and live well with type 1 diabetes. Morning Rise, shine, and check your blood sugar Check your blood sugar as soon as possible after you wake up. This will give you an idea of what your blood sugar was like overnight. You can correct it right away with food or insulin if you find that it’s too high or too low. You may also consider recording your blood sugar levels and other important information in a diabetes journal. This can help you can keep of track of how well your diabetes is controlled from day to day. Start your day with a healthy breakfast Eating well is an important part of managing type 1 diabetes. Start your day off right with a nutritious breakfast that follows your healthy eating plan. A healthy plan for type 1 diabetes typically includes foods from each food group, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats. Since you’re taking insulin, you should also include a moderate amount of healthy carbohydrates at each meal. This will prevent your blood sugar from dropping too low. Make sure to keep track of your carbs and match your intake with your insulin dosage, if needed. You can record this information in your diabetes journal. Some quick and easy breakfast ideas for people with type 1 diabetes include scrambled eggs, oatmeal with low-fat milk, or a fruit and yogurt parfait. Don’t forget to test your blood sugar before and after each meal, including breakfast. Take your medications Remember to take your insulin and any other medications. For busy Continue reading >>
Managing Type 1
In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas produces little or no insulin which is vital for converting glucose into energy. People with type 1 diabetes need to do the job of the pancreas and replace the insulin via insulin injections or an insulin pump. The insulin acts to reduce the level of glucose in the blood. Type 1 diabetes is a life threatening condition which needs to be closely managed with daily care. Type 1 diabetes is managed with: Insulin replacement through lifelong insulin injections (up to 6 every day) or use of an insulin pump Monitoring of blood glucose levels regularly (up to 6 times every day or as directed by a doctor or Credentialled Diabetes Educator) Following a healthy diet and eating plan Taking regular exercise The aim diabetes management is to keep blood glucose levels as close to the target range as possible, between 4 to 6 mmol/L (fasting). However, the ranges will vary depending on the individual and an individual’s circumstances. Talk to your doctor or Credentialled Diabetes Educator for the range of blood glucose levels that are right and safe for you. Keeping your blood glucose level at the optimum range is a careful balance between what food is eaten, physical activity and medication. Blood glucose levels which are too high, could result in hyperglycaemia or ketoacidosis. Blood glucose levels which are too low, could result in hypoglycaemia. It is important to learn about each reaction and respond appropriately. Ketoacidosis is an emergency and you must call emergency services immediately. Monitor blood glucose levels throughout the day and even at night. Keeping your blood glucose levels on target will help prevent both short-term and long-term complications. Your Credentialled Diabetes Educator will help you learn how to check your blood glu Continue reading >>
Living With
If you have type 1 diabetes, it's important to look after your own health and wellbeing, with support from those involved in your care. Your diabetes care team As type 1 diabetes is a long-term condition, you'll be in regular contact with your diabetes care team. Your GP or diabetes care team will also need to check your eyes, feet and nerves regularly because they can also be affected by diabetes. You should also be tested regularly – at least once a year – to check how well your diabetes is being controlled over the long term. A blood sample will be taken from your arm, and the HbA1c test will be carried out. It measures how much glucose is in the red blood cells, and gives your blood glucose levels for the previous two to three months. For help managing your diabetes on a day-to-day basis, check out the mumoActive app in our Digital Apps Library. Lifestyle changes Healthy eating Eating a healthy, balanced diet is very important if you have diabetes. However, you don't need to avoid certain food groups altogether. You can have a varied diet and enjoy a wide range of foods as long as you eat regularly and make healthy choices. You can make adaptations when cooking meals, such as reducing the amount of fat, salt and sugar you eat, and increasing the amount of fibre. You don't need to completely exclude sugary and high-fat foods from your diet, but they should be limited. The important thing in managing diabetes through your diet is to eat regularly and include starchy carbohydrates, such as pasta, as well as plenty of fruit and vegetables. If your diet is well balanced, you should be able to achieve a good level of health and maintain a healthy weight. Read more about healthy recipes. Diabetes UK has more dietary advice and cooking tips. Regular exercise As physical Continue reading >>
6 Lifestyle Changes To Control Your Diabetes
Working closely with your doctor, you can manage your diabetes by focusing on six key changes in your daily life. 1. Eat healthy. This is crucial when you have diabetes, because what you eat affects your blood sugar. No foods are strictly off-limits. Focus on eating only as much as your body needs. Get plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Choose nonfat dairy and lean meats. Limit foods that are high in sugar and fat. Remember that carbohydrates turn into sugar, so watch your carb intake. Try to keep it about the same from meal to meal. This is even more important if you take insulin or drugs to control your blood sugars. 2. Exercise. If you're not active now, it’s time to start. You don't have to join a gym and do cross-training. Just walk, ride a bike, or play active video games. Your goal should be 30 minutes of activity that makes you sweat and breathe a little harder most days of the week. An active lifestyle helps you control your diabetes by bringing down your blood sugar. It also lowers your chances of getting heart disease. Plus, it can help you lose extra pounds and ease stress. 3. Get checkups. See your doctor at least twice a year. Diabetes raises your odds of heart disease. So learn your numbers: cholesterol, blood pressure, and A1c (average blood sugar over 3 months). Get a full eye exam every year. Visit a foot doctor to check for problems like foot ulcers and nerve damage. 4. Manage stress. When you're stressed, your blood sugar levels go up. And when you're anxious, you may not manage your diabetes well. You may forget to exercise, eat right, or take your medicines. Find ways to relieve stress -- through deep breathing, yoga, or hobbies that relax you. 5. Stop smoking. Diabetes makes you more likely to have health problems like heart disease Continue reading >>
A Day In The Life Of Type 1 Diabetes
Unless you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, it’s hard to imagine the daily vigilance that is required to manage the disease. In the first installment of a new New York Times video series, you can get a glimpse of a day with Type 1 through the experiences of teenager Dominique Corozzo. The 16-year-old has been adjusting to living with Type 1 diabetes and discusses the challenges of her diagnosis and how she copes every day with the disease. For more information about research trials involving Type 1 diabetes, go to the National Institutes of Health TrialNet website. For more information about the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, featured in the video, go to www.nbdiabetes.org. Continue reading >>
Pricks And Needles: What Living With Type 1 Diabetes Is Like
Type 1 diabetes, a rarer form of the chronic disease, affects three million Americans. Here's one of them. Back in early 2001, I was a happy, but slightly overweight, 13-year-old boy. Just before the summer I decided to start eating less junk food in hopes of shedding a couple of pounds from my 135-pound frame. I got results quickly -- and my weight kept dropping. Looking back, the signs that something was amiss were obvious. I couldn't make it through 50-minute class periods in middle school without having to run off and pee. It felt like my thirst could never be satiated. I was always tired. But the weight loss was the most obvious sign. Weight kept coming off. 125 pounds, 120, 115. My parents called my pediatrician, but diabetes never came up as a potential cause. An unusual teenage growth spurt prior to puberty was a possibility. An eating disorder was also suggested. By the time I arrived for my annual physical on Nov. 6, 2001, none of my clothes fit and I weighed just 98 pounds -- nearly 30 percent less than my peak weight. More phone calls and doctors' appointments revealed nothing. Back at home after the appointment, I hopped in the shower but was almost immediately interrupted by my mom. The doctor's office called with results from my blood test and I had to get to the emergency room. When I checked into the hospital, my blood sugar was 971. The normal range is 80-150. The doctors said I would have fallen into a diabetic coma within another week. Back then, diabetes seemed like a death sentence. My whole life routine would have to change. I would have to check my blood glucose at least five times a day and stick myself with needles at least four times a day. But for the past ten years, I've been living with an illness that could shorten my life expectancy by 15 Continue reading >>
Type 1 Diabetes- A Childs Experience
Living with type 1 diabetes- a brave five year old learns to cope with needles A type 1 diabetes diagnosis means many day to day changes and a lifetime of careful eating, doctor visits, insulin injections and monitoring blood sugar levels . These challenges are hard at any age, but in early childhood when kids want to eat what their friends eat and are still scared of needles, its particularly hard. Tristan, a brave 5 year old boy, is one of 130,000 Australians living with Type 1 Diabetes.We spoke to his mum Suzie about how Tristan and his family have lived with type 1 diabetes for more than three years. Developing diabetes-friendly family routines Daily routines have changed since Tristan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes , just before his second birthday. It means we always have to be prepared and make sure our daily routine includes time for things like healthy eating, exercising, blood sugar monitoring and insulin injections, Suzie said. When Tristans blood sugar is low, he needs to eat sugar to correct it. Often we can do that by giving him jelly beans or something else sugary to eat. But sometimes he is too tired even to eat and we need to give him a glucose injection. Since he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, we carry a glucose injection everywhere we go. There are lots of supplies Tristan needs on a daily basis. We always carry around his diabetes management kit and his water bottle. Glucose injections, blood sugar test strips and containers to dispose of used needles and syringes are part of the furniture in our house these days. Tristan needs regular insulin to keep his blood glucose levels down, which means daily injections, and careful administration of the needles. We have to make sure that the syringe doesnt go too deep or we would be injecting in the Continue reading >>
The Family Living With Type 1 Diabetes
Like a lot of families with young children, Danielle Sellers and her partner Paul Burnett face a daily battle to get their children to sit down, eat breakfast and get out of the door on time. But Danielle's morning comes with some added mental arithmetic. Not only does she have type 1 diabetes but so do five-year-old James and three-year-old Elizabeth. A Mum, a mathematician and a nurse all rolled into one, she's on call 24 hours a day to make sure that her own blood sugar levels and those of her children don't get dangerously out of control. "So, two Weetabix is 25.7 grams of carbohydrate. With that they are having 100ml milk, which is five grams of carbohydrate. So that's 35.7 - if they eat it all. It's difficult with Weetabix because it absorbs all the milk. "If you don't work it out properly it messes up their day." The amount of insulin the children need changes according to how much carbohydrate they are going to eat. But before they can eat there are the blood sugar tests. They each typically have at least 10 a day. Danielle and Paul even set an alarm for 03:00 every morning to take the children's blood sugar reading while they are sleeping. It's a testament to them that what was once stressful now appears to be a well-organised routine. Locked kitchen James is a blonde-haired ball of energy in a red school jumper. He barely looks up from the toy truck he is playing with on the floor as he holds his finger out to be pricked. Both the children and Danielle have insulin pumps, which are worn 24 hours a day and deliver varying amounts of insulin throughout the day and night. They are about the size of a mobile phone and administer the insulin through a needle in the children's bottoms. The keypads of the pumps have to be locked to prevent the children or their class Continue reading >>
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Watch: A Day In The Life Of A Type 1 Diabetic
Watch: A Day in the Life of a Type 1 Diabetic Each day, a person with Type 1 diabetes needs to do different things to stay a live, whether it be poke their finger to test their glucose levels multiple times, take shots, or program their insulin pumps to deliver insulin. They also have to do lots of math to add up the carbohydrate counts in their food for each meal and snack. Here, the Dale family shares one day in the life of their daughter Aspen, as she goes through her routine of testing anddosing thorough the day, as well as how she goes through changing out both her insulin pump and Dexcom CGM. As an adult, this can be overwhelming at times even for me, but I can remember being a kid just like Aspen, going through many of these same steps with my parents. Though, now, there are a lot more advancements since I was a kid. Heck, my pump didnt even have a bolus calculator in it! Im amazed by all of the technology these kids have now, and Im grateful they do! Sarah has lived with type 1 diabetes since 1988, diagnosed just after turning 4 years old. A technology nut at heart, she loves to explore the differences and uniqueness of different devices we use to manage our diabetes. She has had hands-on experiences with many different insulin pumps, including Medtronic Revel and 530G, Animas Ping and Vibe, Omnipod 100,200, and 400, Accu-Chek Spirit, and Tandem t:slim, as well as many, many glucose meters! She has been a blogger at Sugabetic.Me since 2009, with topics ranging from her own personal diabetes stories, pregnancy and diabetes, diabetes technology, and even hypothyroidism. She also serves as an Advisory Board Member to Diabetes Community Advocacy Foundation. Shes also a wife, and a mom to two little kiddos. Hey, thanks for the video, was very interesting & I hope th Continue reading >>
Excellent Morning Routine Ideas For People With Diabetes
Excellent Morning Routine Ideas for People With Diabetes Author Sean Covey once wrote , Depending on what they are, our habits will either make us or break us. We become what we repeatedly do. People who become successful in something often attest to the power of their habits. A routine is a way ofgiving our habitsa space and structure so that they areeasy to repeat day in and day out. Diabetes management whether you have type 1 or 2 loves routine. If youre able to get in the habit of following a specific routine each day that supports your health, you will absolutely see positive results over time. The following tasks are examplesof habits you could incorporate together into your own custom morning routine. Some may not apply to you and you might think of some of your own to add. The idea is that you make a list of the tasks you want to complete each morning, in the order you want to complete them, and then follow the list until this routine is a habit you dont have to think so hard about. It will make your life easier and diabetes management more successful and consistent. Test first thing in the morning. Before making any other decisions, find out what blood sugar level you are starting the day with. This way, the 2nd decision you make each day is how to proceed with your blood sugars. If you need to correct with insulin or compensate with a different type ofbreakfast, youll be able to do so with this informationthe sooner the better. Massage and/or check feet. Our feet are one of the first places blood flow may be compromised. A great daily habit is to sit up in bed and massage your feet before getting up. If you have some sensation loss due to nerve damage this is a good time to check your feet for sores. Drink a large glass of water. This is a good habit for anyo Continue reading >>
Everyday Life With Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes may change your life, but with a few simple tools, you'll learn how to easily manage your condition. Everyday life with diabetes may involve testing your blood glucose levels and monitoring the highs and lows of your diabetes, but you can do this. You can manage your diabetes. Our Daily Living Center will show you how to manage your diabetes in your everyday life, including managing diabetes when you travel, at work, at school, and on vacation, as well as the emotional sides of the condition. With diabetes, daily routines—such as working, eating, and exercising—take special preparation. Learning how to plan for these everyday tasks can help lower your blood glucose levels and drastically reduce your risk of diabetes complications. This article covers everyday life with type 1 diabetes, and everyday life with type 2 diabetes. Everyday Life with Type 1 Diabetes A day in the life of someone with type 1 diabetes involves working toward blood glucose level goals. You can do this by balancing what you eat with the amount of insulin you take. However, exercise is something you can do to boost your overall health and well-being. Check out our Exercise Center, which shows you how to get started, as well as various exercise options. To help you stay on track with your blood glucose level goals, you should work with your diabetes treatment team, which typically involves a doctor, endocrinologist, registered dietitian, and certified diabetes educator. Your treatment team can help you deal with some of the challenges you may encounter with diabetes, such as how to deal with special events and holidays, or how to manage your diabetes on vacation. Everyday Life with Type 2 Diabetes Managing everyday life with type 2 diabetes is somewhat different Continue reading >>
Type 1 Diabetes: How Is It Treated?
KidsHealth / For Teens / Type 1 Diabetes: How Is It Treated? en espaolDiabetes tipo 1: Cul es el tratamiento? Your teachers follow a lesson plan that outlines what you'll study each day. Your parents may have a plan to help you pay for college. And your weekend social plans determine whether you're seeing a movie, heading to a concert, or playing basketball at the gym. People with type 1 diabetes need to follow a different type of plan. A treatment plan, also called a diabetes management plan, helps people to manage their diabetes and stay healthy and active. Everyone's plan is different, based on a person's health needs and the suggestions of the diabetes health care team. The first thing to understand when it comes to treating diabetes is your blood glucose level, which is the amount of glucose in the blood. Glucose isa sugar that comes from the foods we eat and also is formed and stored inside the body. It's the main source of energy for the cells of the body, and is carried to each cell through the blood. Glucose gets into the cells with the help of the hormone insulin . So how do blood glucose levels relate to type 1 diabetes? People with type 1 diabetes can no longer produce insulin. This means that glucose stays in the bloodstream and doesn't get into the cells, causing blood glucose levels to go too high. High blood sugar levels can make people with type 1 diabetes feel sick, so their treatment plan involves keeping their blood sugar levels within a healthy range, while making sure they grow and develop normally. To do that, people with type 1 diabetes need to: eat a healthy, balanced diet and stick to a diabetes meal plan check their blood sugar levels several times a day Following the treatment plan can help a person stay healthy, but it's not a cure for diab Continue reading >>
A Healthy Daily Routine For Diabetes
Living with diabetes is a challenge that more people in the United States are facing every day. Over 8 percent of Americans now have diabetes — that’s about 26 million people in all, although about 7 million aren’t even aware that they have it. Beyond managing the condition itself, it’s crucial to get diabetes under control because of the risk for serious complications — from kidney failure and nerve damage to heart disease and stroke. On the positive side, you can manage diabetes by following just a few simple healthy-living strategies: Monitoring your blood sugar, taking any prescribed medications, eating a smart diabetes diet, and exercising regularly — every day. Monitoring Your Blood Sugar To effectively manage diabetes, it’s crucial to monitor your blood sugar. “It’s like a light in a dark tunnel: You need to see where you’re going,” says Betul Hatipoglu, MD, an endocrinologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. “If you take insulin, it’s important to check your blood sugar before each injection to be safe, or once a day if you don’t take insulin.” If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes and use insulin, it’s also important to check your blood sugar before exercising or bedtime, and before driving a car to make sure you don’t have low blood sugar. If you're on medication and checking your blood sugar once a day, it might be best to vary what time you check it, sampling at different times of the day, such as before meals or two hours after meals, Dr. Hatipoglu advises. Research has shown that when you monitor your blood sugar closely, it improves your ability to manage diabetes. In a study of almost 300 people published in the journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, people with diabetes who regularly monitored their blood suga Continue reading >>
How This Wearable Tech Is Changing The Daily Routine For People With Type 1 Diabetes
04/09/2017 10:24 BST | Updated 30/10/2017 10:25 GMT How This Wearable Tech Is Changing The Daily Routine For People with Type 1 Diabetes Ground-breaking digital diabetes management technology gives people with type 1 diabetes the freedom to live life the way they want In the UK alone there are an estimated 400,000 people living with type 1 diabetes; over 29,000 are children. Type 1 diabetes isnt caused by an unhealthy lifestyle; its an auto immune condition that cant be predicted or prevented. Type 1 diabetes affects the immune system, attacking and destroying the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. When the body fails to produce insulin, glucose levels in the blood start to rise and the body cant function properly. There is currently no cure for people with type 1 diabetes and the condition needs to be managed on a daily basis. People with type 1 diabetes will have around 65,000 injections and measure their blood glucose over 80,000 times in their lifetime. Daily life and technology go hand-in-hand, but for people living with type 1 diabetes wearable technology can have a truly transformational impact, freeing them from the routines and anxiety of living with this condition. Dexcom G5 Mobile Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CMG) System is the worlds first continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system approved for adults and children aged two years and aboveand you can eliminate the need for multiple finger pricks*, including the ones you may need to do during the night. The wearable technology provides real-time glucose readings every five minutes. For those with type 1 diabetes, that means the freedom to take control of their lives; to know more about their health while taking fewer finger pricks, and for parents and loved ones it grants a valuable peace of mind. Lik Continue reading >>
One Day In The Life Of Type 1 Diabetes
DAY 4161 Living with Diabetes As I sit up in bed, my head spins. It’s 7 a.m. I’m shaking, sweating and scared. It’s only then I realize that I missed dinner last night. I know that my blood sugar is dangerously low. I also know that apart from my 13-year-old sister, I’m home alone. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a muesli bar sticking out of my handbag. I try to get out of bed and reach for it, in an attempt to bring my blood-sugar up. That’s the last thing I can remember. My name is Shelby. I’m your average 21-year-old, aside from the fact that I have had Type 1 diabetes since I was 9. One morning in January of 2014, my blood sugar dropped so low that I had a seizure and knocked myself unconscious after hitting the back of my head on my bed frame. It was the first time that an ambulance had ever been called for me. Apart from this instance, I have had several serious hypoglycemic episodes — I’ve had a seizure whilst on camp visiting a crocodile farm, I’ve smashed drinking glasses in my hands in an attempt to fix my blood sugar and I’ve buttered my hands whilst trying to make myself a sandwich. If you haven’t already guessed it, I’m extremely stubborn and independent. I don’t like asking for help; however, it’s because of my diabetes that I have had to learn how to ask for such. Diabetes is debilitating. Diabetes is devastating. Diabetes is draining. We’re allowed to have good days and bad days; just like everyone else. We just need to be prepared. Even on our bad days, we are still diabetics. We still have to stop and test our blood sugars and give insulin. We have highs (fun fact: we don’t understand how odd it sounds to others when we’re in public and say, “I think I’m high”) and then we also have lows (literally). Our blood Continue reading >>
